Telephone-exchange apparatus.



C. A. STICKNEY.

TELEPHONE EXCHANGE APPARATUS.

APPLICATION man MAY15,1916.

3,254,151 Patented Jan. 22,1918.

CHARLES A. STICKNEY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

TELEPHONE-EXCHANGE APPARATUS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 22, 1918.

Application filed Mayl, 1916. Serial No. 97,68%.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES A. STICK- NEY, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Chicago, vin the county of Cook and State ofvlllinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inTelephone-Exchange Apparatus, of which the following is a specification.Y

rlhis invention relates to improvements in telephone exchange apparatus,and particularly that class of apparatus used in operating coin boxes atsubscribers stations.

One object of my invention is to provide in telephone exchange apparatusmeans whereby a coin deposited in a coin box will be under control ofthe subscriber depositing the coin until the party called has answered,the control of the coin then passing from the subscriber automatically.

Another object of my invention is to provide means 'in telephoneexchange apparatus, whereby a party initiating a call by dropping a coinin the coin box may secure the return of that coin at any time prior tothe time the called party answers, after the operator has answered.

Another obj ect of my invention is to provide in a telephone exchangeapparatus means whereby a coin deposited in a coin box by a subscriberfor the purpose of calling central will be automatically returned to himshould he hang up prior to the completion of the call.

Another object of -Iny invention is to provide in telephone exchangekapparatus automatic means for depositing a coin, placed in a coin boxby a subscriber, in the money box, the means being actuated upon the actof the answering subscriber taking his receiver from the hook.

Another object of my invention is to provide a signal that will notifythe operator lvgvhen a coin has been deposited in the money Anotherobject of my invention is to provide means in the exchange apparatus fornotifying the operator when a coin has been returned to the subscriber.

lVith these and incidental objects in View the invention consists ofcertain novel features of construction and combination of parts, theessential elements of which are hereinafter described. with reference tothe drawings which accompany and form a part Of this specification.

In the drawing is disclosed a schematic circuit of a subscribers line,telephone set and coin box, and an exchange cord circuit embodying vmyinvention.

Subscribers telephone set A is oo nnected by line wires 31 and 32 vtothe exchange, and also has a ground connection 33 in the coin box B,which is closed at the contact 1 when a coin 2 is deposited and restsbetween the pins 3 and 4, the pin 4 being pivoted on the armature 5 at6. Normally the contact 5 is held open by the spring 5.

The line circuit at central station C has a common battery 7 fed outthrough the relay winding 8 through the cut-off contact 9 over the linewire A31, and the relay is actuated only when a ground at 33 is providedthrough the closing of the contact 1 by the depositing of a coin.

The coin mechanism is shown only schematically, as the exchangeapparatus is adapted to take care of different types of coin boxes,wherein the operatoi1 is signaled over one side of the line to ground.

The actuation of the relay coil 8 closes the contact 10 on the linerelay 8, furnishing battery for the line lamp 11.

The operator answers by inserting the plug 12 into the jack 13 andbattery is fed out through the repeating coil windings ,14 and 15through the winding of the supervisory relay 16 and -through contacts ofthe switches 17 and 18 and supplies the talking set A with battery, andas the supervisory relay 16 is actuated, the battery is also fed outthrough the resistance 19 and 20, contact 21, wires 22, 23 and 24,through the sleeve 25 of the plug 12, sleeve 26 of the ack 13, wire 27,through the winding of the cut-od1 relay 28 to the ground, actuatingthecut-olf relay and opening the contact 9, thus cutting the line wires 31and 32 from relay 8.

Having ascertained the number of the party wanted, the operator insertsher answering plug 12 into the jack corresponding to the party wantedand rings.

The sleeve 25 of the answering plug will register with the sleeve of thej ack in which it is inserted, and this sleeve would be connectedthrough the cut-off relay winding associated with that line to ground inthe same manner that the jack and relay cut-off winding are in the linecircuit C and hence battery current would flow through the resistancecoil 19', lamp 29', through the sleeve 25', through the cut-off relay ofthe line of the party being called, to ground, lighting the supervisorylamp 29', and as the receiver of the party being called would be uponthe switch hook there would be no circuit out over line to actuate thesupervisory relay 16.

Vhen, however, the called party answers, the supervisory relay 16 wouldbe actuated similarly as 16 in the answering side of the circuit, thecontact 21' would be closed, shunting out the lamp 29 through thecombined resistances in parallel of the resistance coil 20 and theswitch operating coil 30. f

The operation of this coil 30 through the Contact 51 would place a highvoltage, preferably 110 volts, from the generator 31 through the winding32 of the coin signal relay 36', contact 33 of the switch 17, contact 34of the switch 18, tip of the plugout over line 31 through the wire 35,the operating coils 46 of the coin box, contact 5, to the frame of thecoin box to the ground 33, thus actuating the mechanism and depositingthe coin, the contact 5 would be opened as soon as the coin droppedthrough, and the circuit for the switch coil 30 would be opened by theactuation of the coin signal relay 36, which is of a sluggish type toinsure the depositing of the coin before the contact 51 is opened.

W'hen the coin signaling relay 36' is actuated by current Vflowingthrough the coil 32', it is locked by battery current flowing throughYthe lamp 41', contact 40', coil 39', wire 38', wire 37, wire 24, sleeve25 of the plug 12, sleeve 26 of the jack 13, winding 28 of the cut-olfrelay to ground, and the relay will remain locked with the lamp 41lighted until the operator removes the plug 12 from the jack 13, whenthe relay will be released and the lamp extinguished, the lamp 41serving as a signal to notify the operator when the coin has beendeposited in the money box and remains as a permanent signallto thateect as long as the plug is in the ac z. J Should the subscriber A forany reason wish to hang up his telephone, after the operator answershim, but prior to the called party answering, and hence before his coinhas been deposited in the money box, the act of hanging his receiver onthe hook will open the circuit over line wires 31 and 32, and hence therelay 16 will fall back to normal, the contact 21 will be opened and thecontact 42 will again be made, connecting battery through the wires 43,contact 42, wire 44, switch coil 30, sleeve 25 of the plug, vsleeve 26of the jack through the winding 28 of the cut-off relay to ground,actuating the returning coin switch 18, which will send 110 volts fromthe generator 45 of the oppoerator that the coin has been returned tothe subscriber and the relay will remain locked with the signal lamp 41illuminated until the plug 12 is removed from the jack 13, thuspreventing anyone from returning their own coin to themselves quicklyand then allowing the operator to completel the call without knowingthat the coin has passed out of control of the returning mechanism. Thesupervisory lamp 29 will also be illuminated when the relay 16 isdenergized by the calling subscriber hanging his receiver ,on his switchhook by the removal of the shunt 20 from around the supervisory lamp 29and the operator will thus Vknow when theparty has hung up, remove theplugs 12 and 12 from the jacks and the apparatus will then all be in itsnormal condition,

While I have described my invention and illustrated in one particulardesign, I do not wish it understood that I limit myself to thisconstruction, as it is evident that the application of my invention maybe varied in many ways within the scope of the following claims.

Claims:

1. In telephone exchange apparatus the combination of subscribers linecircuits, subscribers telephone sets associated therewith, a coin boxassociated with one of said subscribers sets, means controllable fromsaid coin box for returning said coin, and means controllable at acalled station for depositing said coin, and signaling means remainingpositive until the connection has been taken down at said exchange,whereby the condi-V tion of said coin is signaled to the'operator atsaid exchange. l Y

2. In a telephone exchange apparatus the combination of a centralexchange, a plurality of line circuits having subscriber stationsconnected therewith at one of which is a coin box having means thereinwhen actuated for depositing or returning a coin, means for impressingon a line circuit a super-normal voltage, means controllable from acalled station for impressing said super-normal voltage in one directionon said coin box line, and means at a coin box station for impressingsuper-normal voltage of opposite polarity on its'own line.

3. In a telephone exchange apparatus the combination of a centralexchange, a plurality of subscriber stations having subscriber Asetsassociated therewith, a part of whichV have coin boxes associated withsaid lines, polarized means at sald com box stations operable bysuper-normal voltage for depositing or returning a coin placed therein,a source of super-normal voltage at said central station, meanscontrollable at a called station for impressing said super-normalvoltage of one polarity onto the calling line, and means at the callingstation for impressing super-normal voltage of opposite polarity on saidcalling line.

4. In a telephone exchange system the combination of a central exchange,a plurality of subscriber circuits having` subscriber sets associatedtherewith, a part of which have coin boxes associated therewith,supernormal voltage means at said exchange whereby super-normal voltagemay be applied to a line circuit in either polarity, electromagneticmeans controllable from a calling coin boX station for impressingsuper-normal voltage of one polarity on said calling line, means at saidcentral station for rendering said controlling means inoperative when acalled party has answered, and means for impressing said super-normalvoltage of opposite polarity on said coin box circuit when the calledparty answers.

CHARLES A. STICKNEY.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C.

